NOT APPLICABLE
(1) Field of the Invention
This application is a continuation of U.S. application Ser. No. 09/187,493, filed Nov. 6, 1998, which is included herein by reference. The present invention relates generally to sheet or web dispensers, and more particularly to a dispenser apparatus for use in dispensing antiseptic, pre-moistened towelettes that are stored in either web or sheet form.
(2) Description of the Related Art
Infectious diseases remain the leading cause of death, world-wide, and the third leading cause of death in the United States. Voluminous authoritative research conducted during the last 150 years, by an array of pertinent disciplines, agencies and industries concur that frequent hand washing is the single-most reliable means for preventing the spread of infectious diseases.
Unfortunately, voluminous authoritative research also continues to reveal an abhorrent failure in compliance with this seemingly benign edict. Among the most intensely studied contextsxe2x80x94the health care, child care, elder-care, and food services industries, workers have been found to wash their hands in approximately 30% of required instances. Further, studies indicate that 30% of all food poisoning incidents recorded occur in the home, and at least 70% of these are hand transmitted, person-to-person, fecal-to-oral incidents.
Particularly during the last two decades, the United States has been confronted with the following on-going conditions: (1) growing numbers of emergent and re-emergent pathogens which are attacking with greater xe2x80x9cstealthxe2x80x9d force, and with an unprecedented unpredictability; (2) increasing numbers of multi-drug resistant pathogens; (3) swelling populations of vulnerable immuno-compromised patients; (4) indiscriminate use of antibiotics, contributing to their growing impotence; (5) high-load pathogen sites which defy familial socioeconomic boundaries; (6) an estimated 70% of transmission of pathogenic microbes via hand-transmission, primarily person-to-person, fecal-to-oral route; (7) the dissolution of our own health care infrastructure, such that it is an acknowledged contributor to the emergence and re-emergence of multi-drug resistant pathogens; and (8) globalization of infectious diseases previously limited by geographic boundaries.
Numerous commercial establishments are required either by law, civil liability, or a sense of moral obligation to make certain that their workers are washing their hands, resulting in the need for a means by which employers are able to monitor their workers to ensure that proper hand washing takes place.
Many inventions that have attempted to address the above-stated problems through facilitated hand washing have lacked the necessary portability that would allow it to change human behavior and implement the level of hand washing required to reverse and diminish the spread of infectious diseases.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,826,262 to Hartman et al. discloses an electronic towel dispenser with a sensor that dispenses towels caused by the movement of the towel by the user, however, the device of Hartman does not disclose towels that are pre-moistened with an antiseptic lotion, nor does it disclose a sensor that records data.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,105,898 to Byrd et al. also discloses a paper towel dispenser that is activated by a variable resistance photo sensor. However, the sensor disclosed in Byrd also does not records data.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,573,318 to Arabian et al. discloses a towel dispenser that records acts of use and adapts flexibility to external circumstances. However, the microprocessor records use patterns for preventing used towels from being dispensed, preventing dispensing when it is not queried, and the microprocessor does not record specific data relating to particular users.
No invention is known for facilitating an increase in the frequency of hand washing as a means for preventing the spread of infectious disease, that provides all of the advantages disclosed in and exhibited by the present invention.
It is an object of the present invention to provide a dispensing apparatus for pre-moistened antiseptic towelettes stored in sheets or in web form that renders frequent hand cleansing feasible, and motivates positive sustained changes in hand washing behavior via integral operant and classical conditioning strategies built into actual products. It is also an object of this invention to provide a dispensing apparatus that is adaptable to the numerous commercial environments in which frequent hand-washing is required, including but not limited to, nursing homes, food preparation facilities, and medical establishments. It is also and object of this invention to provide a dispensing apparatus that allows monitoring of its usage by different individuals, so that a behavior modification program can be implemented when recorded activity demonstrates such a need.
Most vital among its multiple uses, the dispensing system of the present invention makes frequent and effective hand washing realistic and practical. In this capacity, the inventive apparatus provides the tools for strategic intervention to xe2x80x9cbreak the chain of contagionxe2x80x9d of hand-transmitted infectious diseases. This means, for example, that many food-borne pathogens, which we carry on our own contaminated hands, will be killed before exposure to the vulnerable mucosal membranes of the mouth, nose, and eyes. Hand transmission is one of the major forms of contagion responsible for the spread of infectious diseases. In the case of eating, hand transmitted pathogens easily become xe2x80x9cfood-bornexe2x80x9d pathogens. In this common situation, we literally xe2x80x9cself-inoculatexe2x80x9d.
One of the paramount obstacles to frequent hand washing, using traditional methods, has been that the traditional methods are time and labor intensive. Consequently, many people neglect to wash their hands at all. In addition, it is common for traditional hand washing methods to be responsible for incomplete hand de-contamination, as well as virtually instantaneous hand recontamination, for example, during exit from a bathroom when newly washed hands come in contact with door handle hardware on a bathroom door.
The present invention system provides a compact, durable, safe, reliable, portable, and multi-purpose anti-microbial weapon. It dispenses, either at room temperature or warmed, individual, broadly germicidal, biodegradable, sturdy yet soft, soothing, moisturizing and healing, flushable pre-moistened towelettes for sanitary/antiseptic cleansing of skin on hands, and face, as well as on many other parts of the human anatomy. In addition to dispensing pre-moistened, perforated towelettes, the present invention system optionally may include a hand drying assembly, a sanitary disposal compartment for used towelettes, and a sensor adapted for interaction with badges that permit verification of system use for those wearing such badges. The apparatus is of a size and shape that permits it to be mounted in any of a number of different orientations and any convenient mounting structure can be employed to secure the housing in any of these orientations.
The present invention system differs from traditional hand-washing methods in many significant ways, including the following: (1) Hand cleansing is completed significantly faster with the present invention; (2) The present invention provides all necessary xe2x80x9cingredientsxe2x80x9d for antiseptic, moisturizing, healing hand washing in the form of a conveniently available in a compact, self-contained unit; (3) During use of the present invention hand cleansing evolves from being a burden, into an easy, pleasurable, and habitual experience; (4) When the present invention includes a means of sanitary disposal for used towelettes, the present invention also prevents unwitting contamination of other sites or persons; (5) Cost in human energy usage regarding the cleansing of self and hands of children is greatly reduced using the present invention; (6) Children can more reliably be taught autonomy in disease prevention for self/wellness because the present invention is easy to use and feels good, providing a positive reinforcement effect; (7) Children and adults are repeatedly influenced by the present invention to remain aware that their personal hygiene can have a most serious impact on their own well-being as well as the well-being of others; (9) Through use of the present invention human suffering and needless loss of lives can be significantly diminished, and a great deal of the enormous costs associated with the spread of infectious diseases attributed to incomplete hand washing can be put to far more constructive use; and (10) Through use of the present invention a system is provided that easily adapts to different cultures for global use.